By Bri Renee
Amber Powell can do just about anything. Keep her personal life private? Check. Work in the television industry for 20+ years? Check. Be bubbly and enthusiastic? Check. Produce the top music awards show in the region? Check. But to let her tell it, it's no big deal.
Amber never thought she’d be involved in the music business, even though music is her passion. “I’m from Henderson, Kentucky. That’s like Western Kentucky, two-seven-oh… but I just feel like Louisville is my home. As soon as I got a car, I was in Louisville hanging out at the dirt bowl...” After attending multiple colleges she earned her degree from the University of Southern Indiana in Psychology. During this time, she also had her two daughters, now sixteen and eighteen years old, of whom she is very protective, and rightfully so. “I’m very private and I don’t put my kids on social media because my life is so public,'' she stated. After moving around to a couple of different locations, she settled in Nashville, taking a job in television production and directing.
While living there, she began to do different things in the music business on the side, including music video and award show production. "I just started figuring out ways to be involved in music without making music". Though she was in Nashville, a mutual friend from Henderson who was at the time nominated for a Kymp Kamp Award, introduced her to two of the many connections she’d make throughout her 20+ year career. “A year or two later I linked up with [DJ] Slikk and [DJ] Marlei Mar. I just reached out and was like ‘I want to come cover the award show this year'.” She ended up meeting them and Hurra Season in person after several social media and phone conversations. “They were so cool and welcoming,'' she gushed, "It's coming up on 10 years, I think". You can tell the bond was solidified between them after that initial meeting.
DJ Slikk and Co began recommending Amber for many opportunities. "I was still living in Nashville and they were in Louisville, but anytime there was a show in Bowling Green, I would meet them there and they would get me access to interview them." She excitedly recalled getting to meet and interview Two Chains, better known as Titty Boy back then as one of her favorite interviews she’s done, and mentions shooting a music video for Hurra Season as well.
Over the years, the 4 of them grew closer. "They became my family,'' she says, calling them her brothers. At this point, both the award show and her time in Nashville had run their respective courses. Kymp Kamp was rebranded and became the Elitegiance, and Amber officially moved to Louisville. Amber got even more involved. She wasn't an original member of the Elitegiance, but was brought on about a year in when DJ Slikk decided he wanted to bring the awards back. He wasn't sure who was going to produce and direct it, so Amber volunteered. "I was just like 'well let me do it!'" she exclaimed. She thought she would have some convincing to do, but Slikk was all for it.
From there, the Kentucky Urban Entertainment Awards were born. The awards are presented by the Elitegiance, a members only group of DJs, producers, and artists, but she and DJ Slikk are the co-executive producers of the awards show. Amber also handles directing, but each member of the Elitegiance has a hand in helping make the awards happen since planning for the awards often begins a year in advance. Amber reminisces about meeting up with DJ Empty Beats the day after the 2018 award show asking him "what can we do for next year?"
Beyond planning the actual event, the voting process starts with the general public nominating their favorite artists, DJs, Producers, etc. for different categories. For a month, these are completely open, so you can nominate anyone for anything. From there, the ten people (depending on the category) with the highest number of nominations are reviewed by a secret committee to prevent bias and ensure people are being nominated in the correct categories. After they are approved, they get added to the ballot and official voting begins. Once this is complete, the committee once again double checks that voting was done fairly and the person with the most votes wins.
Amber has seen the awards evolve over the years, and is sure they will continue to get better with time. She envisions a bigger and better show every time. As for what her main goal is for the Kentucky Urban Music Awards, she said the following, "My goal is to create an awesome experience for the nominees and their families,'' she says sincerely, "we see you grinding all year and this is what we want to give back to you." She also mentions that the reason they don't have a dress code is that they want to be inclusive and for everyone to be comfortable. They also keep the tickets at an affordable price of $20 (for advanced tickets). "We do this for the people. We don't do this for Slikk or AP. And we don't do this for the Elitegiance. And we don't do this for our friends or the people that we like or the people that spend money to do mixtapes. This is for everybody." Amber says passionately, taking a sip of her drink.
Amber Powell is clearly in her element. You can tell by the enthusiasm and intensity in her voice and how comfortable she is when discussing her work and her kids. When I asked her legacy, though, she was both serious and lighthearted, stating "They're gonna remember me for being a boss ass bitch, but I would love to be remembered as being a good parent. That's personally. Professionally, I would love to produce the MTV Music Awards, but that aside, I honestly feel like I'm already achieving my dreams." She goes on to say that one of her favorite quotes in the world is from a Drake song: "You know it's real when you are who you say you are." And when you work as hard as Amber did (and still does) to achieve your goals, you can do anything and be who you want to be.
The Kentucky Urban Music Awards are open to the public, who can purchase a ticket to attend online at the Elitegiance website. All nominees get a plus one for free.